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Field Projects
Field projects are underway to study environmental processes in several different
settings. Surface water flows and transport of chemicals in the environment
are under study in the South Fork of Broad River, near the Laboratory in Athens,
Georgia and at the Lock Lake Tidal Marsh near the South shore of Long Island,
New York. Redox speciation is being studied in groundwater systems and in surface-water sediments near Watkinsville,
GA as well as other locations. The persistence in individual enantiomers
of chiral pesticides also is being
studied in three agricultural watersheds near Watkinsville, Georgia. Impacts
of land use change on soil biogeochemistry and trace gas exchange in Brazilian
Savannas is being studied in the Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment
in Amazonia (LBA).
Field and Sampling Equipment Photos
Past Projects:
The South Fork Broad River Watershed in Northeast Georgia was a comprehensive
nonpoint source field study of surface water flows and transport of contaminants
that is described in a 72" by 48" poster (PDF, 1 pp., 3.9 MB, about PDF). A 17" by 11" version
of this poster (PDF, 1 pp., 1.7 MB, about PDF) is also available.
Six sites within the watershed were set up with highly instrumented with specialized
monitoring equipment (ISCO, YSI multi-probes, cableway sampling system) to
collect data before, during and after storm events on stream depth, turbidity,
specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), Oxidation Reduction Potential
(ORP), and temperature. Rain-event stream sampling was conducted for bedload
sediment, total suspended solids (TSS), nutrients (nitrate, ammonia, total
nitrogen, ortho and total phosphorus), total organic carbon and pathogens (fecal
coliform, E.coli, and enterococci). A weather station located in the watershed
has collected meteorological data and additional precipitation data are being
collected from seven other sites. Stream hydrographic data were being collected
including stage-discharge relationships, water stage records and velocity profiles.
Water stage and discharge data were obtained at a continuously recording real-time
USGS station (SFBR70) and at non-continuous river stage (level), and stream
flow (discharge) for the remaining five stream sites. The web site can be accessed
for real-time data at: 
http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/ga/nwis/nwismap/?site_no=02191743&agency_cd=USGS.
Watershed Field Research Public concern has grown over the past 30 years regarding the health of our ecological resources and the contamination of water supplies by sediments, chemicals, metals , and pathogens. Contaminants are transported from their site of application to nearby streams and lakes via the atmosphere, storm runoff, and sub-surface flow, including ground water. The U.S. EPA conducts field research to collect environmental data that describes contaminant release, movement, and related exposures. Watershed Field Research (PDF, 2 pp., 491 KB)